Global private equity and venture capital investments in the aviation industry stood at $20.84 billion for the year to Dec. 12, reflecting a 50.3% drop from the 2021 full-year total of $41.96 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Deal volume declined to 312 during the same period compared to 398 in 2021.

The number of private equity-backed deals in the first quarter reached 115, but declined each subsequent quarter, following the general pattern of all M&A as macroeconomic conditions soured.

Year-to-date through Dec. 12, the fourth quarter had the lowest deal value in the sector since 2018, with 50 announced transactions totaling $300 million.

Year-to-date through Dec. 12, U.S. and Canadian companies received the largest share of private equity investment, totaling $10.96 billion across 102 transactions.

Asia-Pacific came in next with 107 deals totaling $7.65 billion, followed by Europe with eight deals in total.

* Click here to download a spreadsheet with data featured in this story. * Explore more private equity coverage here.

Top transactions

The largest announced investment in the sector this year was the $6.04 billion buyout of Hitachi Transport System Ltd., a unit of Japanese conglomerate Hitachi Ltd., by KKR & Co. Inc.'s KKR Asian Fund IV.

The second-largest was the $4.51 billion acquisition of Purchase, N.Y.-based cargo airline company Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. by an investor group comprising Apollo Global Management Inc., J.F. Lehman and Co. LLC and Hill City Capital LP.

It was followed by Hawthorne, Calif.-based spacecraft company Space Exploration Technologies Corp., which raised nearly $1.73 billion in a funding round that saw participation from Angel Box Co. Ltd., among other investors.